Creating an Inspired Workplace

One of the questions I’m often asked when on the road teaching is, "How do you make your employees feel?inspired?to do their job?" It's a tough situation for new supervisors and one that can create a great deal of “imposter syndrome” as a new leader. The default is to model the behavior you’ve experienced as a subordinate OR to do a complete 180 if your experience was not positive from former leaders.

The goal is to find out enough about each of your people - to understand what internally and/or intrinsically motivates them. Start with yourself. Take a few minutes this morning to write down those things that truly?inspire?you to act without much thought. Things like family, your spouse, your children, and/or hobbies you enjoy. Now make a list of what motivates you to do your job well. This is where it gets tricky, because you will likely have more external drivers on this list than the first list you created. Things such as money, status, time off, and/or flexibility will be on this list for sure, but now dig deep to explore what you actually want to accomplish for the people you lead and the organization you serve.

When you start to take the focus off of you specifically, you will start to view things more holistically and in turn will start to see the individuals you lead differently.?This happened to me. For years as a leader and chief of police, I would get the problems that no one below me wanted to deal with. I often say as a chief, you get problems when all the fun has been rung out of them. Consequently, you are bombarded daily with the negative and it becomes difficult to remain immune to the effect they will have on you as a person and as a leader. You see, for the most part, I’m a fun-loving, optimistic person, but for many years as a chief, the job had taken its toll on that part of me.

When I decided that my purpose was going to be seeing those I led for who they could become rather than how they were, in that moment, I became a better leader and a much better person. When you change your mindset, you change your focus. When the focus shifts from you to those you lead, you become a better leader. So I challenge each of you to do the same - starting this week! Here are some quick tips to consider:

• Don’t fall into the trap of trying to manipulate others to act, but rather focus on what really motivates them.
• Get them to see the "why" and explain it before they ask!
• Help everyone you lead understand your “why” of leading them and how it directly relates to the bigger purpose of the organization.
• Work on creating the mindset that focuses on motivating rather than manipulating.
• Motivation comes from within; manipulation usually comes from external factors that I call the three F’s: Fear, Force, and Facts. Make sure you are not using these as a leader. Below is a brief description of each:
• Fear?– when leaders intimidate, threaten, and/or bully employees into doing their bidding. The typical outcome for leaders that embrace this is employees that do exactly what is expected to avoid retribution and then don’t care about the outcome of their actions. They often hate their job and hate their boss – and for good reason! If you’ve ever worked for someone that manages this way, it isn’t fun. You feel belittled, trapped, and by NO means do you feel?inspired?to do your work.
• Force?– occurs when managers (notice I will not call them leaders) rule by force. In their world, there is no discussion, no explanation, just a "do as I say or else" approach. Employees are quite frankly treated like children. Their ability to make an independent decision or to even care about the outcome is overpowered by the force their manager has placed on them. Even if the employee had a good idea that would achieve an even better outcome, the “fear” manager refuses to listen or even solicit input from staff or worse yet, the staff “fears” to even suggest an alternative idea.
• Facts?– what the slightly more sophisticated and manipulative manager rules by - facts. He or she is obsessed with information, but it’s only the information that backs up their position – a sort of confirmation bias if you will. The result is a workforce that simply throws up their hands. They view their manager or boss as someone who is a know-it-all and who is always spouting facts but never listening to any counter facts.

Avoiding these 3 pitfalls is key. The better, modern, and more effective approach that true leaders understand is to lead through?inspiration. Creating an?inspired?workplace doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it can be fun! With a little self-reflection and determination as to where you and your people are as leaders, you can develop a strategy that will lead to an?inspired?workplace.

Have a great week, everyone!

- Dean